Improvement in car-couplings



H; M. RULON.

OAR COUPLING. N 0, 47,985.

Patented May 30, 1865.

Witnesses:

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v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY M. BULON, on MONMDOU'TH, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.-47,985, dated May 30, 1865.

To mil whom it may concern:

Be it known'that I, HENRY M. RULON, of Monmouth, in the county of Warren and State of Illinois, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Car-Couplers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings and letters of reference marked. thereon, which form a part of thisspecification, andinwhich.-

Figures 1 and-2 are top..views of the two draw-heads or hunters; Figsr3 and 4, end views of the same; and Figs. 5 and 6 show how said draw-heads are attached to the engine so as to enable either kind to be used.

The nature of my invention consists in coup ling. cars together by the us of a single connecting-pin,in connection with peculiarlyconstructed draw-heads so arranged that they are coupled by simply running the cars together.

To enable those skilled in the art tomanufacture and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with particularity;

A is one of the draw-heads, and B a mate to it. They being constructed differently, itis necessary to make vthem in pairs.

G'is the connecting-pin, and it is intended to let that remain permanently attached to thedraw-head A. It is attached, o'r,r,rather, put in its place in said draw-head, by removing the key F, the key F being a removable part of the draw-head and beingheld in its place bythe lips band the pin a.

D is a weight connected with the connect ing-pin C by means of the rod d, and its purpose is to keep the said connecting-pin G in certain position, or, when itis turned, to bring it back into that position, as I will hereinafter more fully describe The draw-head B is made hollow, with the opening E, the sides-of the face of the draw-head being sloping towardv said opening. The end P-of the coupling pin is made somewhat the same shape of an arrow-head, only not as pointed, and the edges are made thinner than thecenter by chipping off on one side only of each edge and upon opposite sides of thehead, thus making it bit-shaped, so that when the cars come together and the coupling-pin head P strikes the sloping sides of the face of the draw-head B it is immediately turned up edge wise, so as't-o pass through the slot E, when theweight D, which is raised by the turning of the coupling-pin, turns the pin back to its original position, and the barbs or shoulders s catch on the draw-head at H H and the cars are coupled together. The slant shown on the coupling-pin head abs and the corresponding slant on the draw-head at H H are to provide for the side motion of the cars. The draw-head A is made hollow, as shown, so as to hold the head of the coupling-pin, and there,

is also a side opening for the weight D to work in. The cars are uncoupled by raising the weight D, whichturns the coupling-pin and allows the head P to draw out of the draw-. head B. This may be done by the brakemen, by meansof a rod and hook, from the top of the cars, or by simply raising the weight in any method. There are square shoulders or m on the coupling-pin C, to keep said pin from turning only as it is turned by raising. the weight D. The draw-head or bunter B is constructed much longer than A, to provide for the difi'erence in the height of cars, for the coupling takes place the same, whether the pin Cstrikes the slot Enear its bottom or near its top. In coupling an engine to cars it is liable to be, driven to the end of a car that has either kind of a draw-head attached to it, 'and to obvietethe difliculty of two drawheads of the same kind coming together I attach to the rear of the engine a double drawhead containing one of each kind, that can 'be turned, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig.

6, so that either can be used, as required; and also" on the front of the engine, over the cowcatcher, there is a draw-head of each kind, arranged so that either may be swung-out for .use, as indicated .by dotted lines in Fig. 7.

Having thus fully described the construction and operation of my improved car-coupler, what I claiin as my invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The coupling-pin 0, when constructed and operating substantially. as and for the pur- 

